The University of Tennessee at Martin women's basketball leaned heavily on its freshmen core on Thursday night while pushing Southeastern Conference foe Missouri to the brink before ultimately falling 60-55 on the road.
The Skyhawks (1-2) went on the road for the first time and proved they were up to the task by holding a 36-35 lead at the half before seeing the Tigers take control in the second half to cling to a narrow advantage. With Missouri leading by as much as 14 points with 3:36 to play in the contest, UT Martin stormed back in the closing minutes to trim the deficit down to a single possession on a three-pointer by Josie Storey with nine seconds to play to make the margin 58-55. The Skyhawks would ultimately run out of time in the waning moments as the Tigers sank a pair of free throws and pulled out a 60-55 win to remain unbeaten.
The visitors received big performances from their freshman group as four players saw over 23 minutes of action. While on the floor, the Skyhawks saw their freshmen combine to score 45 of the team's 55 points on the night.
Reigning OVC Player and Freshman of the Week Kenley McCarn led the team in scoring for the second time this season with a game-high 15 points while also tallying seven rebounds. Meanwhile the pair of Storey and Anaya Brown tossed in nine points each with Brown snagging a team-high eight rebounds. Fellow freshman Sharnecce Currie-Jelks also flirted with double figures by scoring eight points in her third career outing.
Missouri (5-0) picked up its fifth consecutive win of the season behind four Tigers which scored in double figures. Hayley Frank tallied McCarn with a game-high 15 points while Sara-Rose Smith notched a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds in the win. Meanwhile, Lauren Hansen and Ashton Judd also tossed in 11 points each for the squad.
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